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ICE starting at a stoplight 35 minutes in to trip

Has anyone experienced the ICE automatically starting up at a stop light, 35 minutes in to a trip?

I drive expressways and city streets to and from work (which takes 45 - 50 minutes each way) and everytime my trip hits the 35 minute mark and I am at a stoplight the engine will start up and run for 10 seconds then switch back to EV mode, or engine will start up and soon as I take my foot off the brake, the system will drop in to EV mode and then start up again when I am moving. This only happens at the 35 minute mark, not before; I haven't driven long enough to see if its every 35 minues afterwards.

I mentioned this to the Service Advisor at my first service; and the Tech said that this is normal. I have friends that have Prius, and their cars do not do this.

Was fighting to keep mine in EV mode today, so was thinking about similar. It's just speculation, but maybe the ICE turns on anytime it feels it needs something, like if it senses that the oil or the cat is too cold, or some nonsense like that?

Same with mine

I've had similar experiences. I've been traveling in EV mode then stop at a light. The engine will start and then return to EV mode when I step back on the gas pedal when the light turns green. It doesn't seem to adversely effect fuel economy and seems to be a infrequent occurance. As GrendleKhan mentioned above, there must be a reason the computer does it - I would expect the Cat, O2 sensor or coolant temp needs heating. Edit - the battery meter shows a good charge when it does this.

There are all kinds of warnings that the engine could start at any time.

Can you really start from a stop ligh in EV mode?

I'll be sitting there in EV mode and I try to be a super gentle and slow creeping off from the light and bingo bything I get to 10 and everyone behind me is ready to certify me as an idiot the ICE comes on.

I went to a lonely street and tried to see if it was possible to creep up to 30 in EV mode. NO LUCK! I check the HV battery meter first and it's in the middle so it not running out of juice.

By the way I went down a super long 2 mile hill the other day after driving along at 60 for about 10 miles and got the HV battery meter to go full up to the white line at the "Full end oF the scale"

I'll be sitting there in EV mode and I try to be a super gentle and slow creeping off from the light and bingo bything I get to 10 and everyone behind me is ready to certify me as an idiot the ICE comes on.

I went to a lonely street and tried to see if it was possible to creep up to 30 in EV mode. NO LUCK! I check the HV battery meter first and it's in the middle so it not running out of juice.

By the way I went down a super long 2 mile hill the other day after driving along at 60 for about 10 miles and got the HV battery meter to go full up to the white line at the "Full end oF the scale"

AC on or off? If traffic is slow, or no-one behind me, and road is flat, I can get it to 40mph on EV, if engine is plenty warm, no ac, and the battery is charged (more than halfway). If battery is charged only halfway (in the middle, as you said), it's MUCH harder - pretty much impossible.

I was thinking, maybe you have a bad battery. Maybe only one could cause you this problem. Maybe you can test the voltage of each battery? I don't know how to access them, sorry...

But if you DO have a bad battery, and you cannot test it, and you can't get help from the dealer, then I would suggest over-charging to try to heal the battery, like you are doing on those long downhills. Or find a way to charge them from a DC supply. I don't know if it will work, but it's better than nothing. I don't even know if it'll let you over-charge on a downhill, but it's worth a shot. I'd hit that hill a bunch of times.